A Sim-ple Life!

While interviewing a group of women gamers for a tech story, one of them said the best part about gaming was interfering with other people’s lives! How true. My Sims live a much fuller and more exciting life than I do—and it gives me great pleasure to make their lives even more interesting!

Let’s see, what’s up with my Sims? Brandi Broke started out as a penniless single mother with two sons—troubled teen Dustin and the unruly toddler Beau. And if that was not enough, she was pregnant, too! She had another son, whom she (well, I!) named Daniel. Poor Dustin had to put aside his teenage angst and get a job. His free time was spent babysitting his little brothers while his mother slaved away.

Today, Brandi is a grandmother. Dustin and Beau are both grown-up, and Daniel is a teenager. Dustin, unfortunately, was drawn to a life of crime and he is currently a bank robber! Beau turned out well. He went to university, where he met and fell in love with Simon Burb. Today, Beau is a hot-shot scientist. He lives with Simon, and together they have raised three exceptional daughters. But more about them later. Daniel, meanwhile, is looking for a part-time job and a scholarship to go to university.

Brandi tried flirting with the cleaning man, Remington, and she had even got him to move in, but things didn’t work out. Anyway, she is doing well on her own.

John, Jennifer and Lucy Burb traded the ‘fast-paced city life for some fresh air’, and came to live in Pleasantville. It turned out to be a good move. John is now retired and Jennifer is a successful GP. They had three more children—Simon, Willow and a little one whose name I can’t recall. Willow is a maths major at La Fiesta University; and Lucy, now all grown-up, moved back in with her parents to help raise the baby, now that John hardly has enough energy to run after a demanding toddler.

Which brings me to Simon Burb and his family—my most successful family in Pleasantville. (I think this is a game bug, but Simon’s father John is unhappy about his son being gay—neither Simon’s civil union with Beau, nor the arrival of grandchildren gave John any aspiration points, though it says clearly that he wants those things!) Beau and Simon Burb have three talented daughters. Emmeline and Grace, both in their teens, hold four university scholarships between them. They also got into private school and both are on top of their part-time professions. Young Amanda is doing a good job of following in her fathers’ and sisters’ illustrious footsteps. After the success of his first book, Simon gave up his high-profile job and is now working on his second novel.

Another single parent, Darren Dreamer, has tried hard to bring up son Dirk well. Things were looking bad, Darren frustrated at not being able to pursue his dream of being an artist, and unpaid bills piling up. Then Cassandra Goth fell in love with him. They married, and Cass moved in with her huge bank balance! They bought a luxurious house and had twin daughters, Heidi and Hanne. Finally, Darren is able to find the time to paint. He looks after the kids and works nights as a fast food shift manager, while doc Cassandra is the family’s main breadearner.

And what of Dirk? Well, he’s at La Fiesta University, a bio major. This story too seems set for a happy ending!

Of my ‘made’ families, the Sturgis’ have just adopted a son, Christopher, who, in all honesty, is a total brat. The Kassem family, Farid and Sara, have moved into their new house. They have had a daughter, Zainab, still a baby, and there is another one on the way, if Sara’s throwing up is any indication.

Another very successful family, the Subramaniams, have been lost after my computer crashed some months ago. Mr Subramaniam came into some money after some underhand dealings (read, my trying out the cash cheats!) and they had built themselves a mansion. The kids were doing well at school, even though the elder one was two-timing his girlfriend.